Alternates
by Runehar
Summary: Two alternate endings to Chapter 4 of my story "Wally, Don't Let Go." READ THAT FIRST otherwise this won't make a lick of sense. WARNING: Character death in the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is a continuation of chapter 3 of my story "Wally, Don't Let Go." If you haven't read that yet, DO SO NOW! This won't make sense if you haven't read that first.**

**Both chapters of this story are alternate versions of the ending of Chapter 3.**

**WARNING: Character death D:**

...

Barry hated every time he had to tell Wally's parents that their son had been injured. Fortunately, Wally had the healing rate of a speedster and was never hurt very badly for very long. But this time…

No amount of accelerated healing could hope to treat three bullet wounds to the chest fast enough. So here Barry was, standing on the West's front porch—not to tell them that their son was hurt, but to tell them he was dead.

Barry raised a heavy hand to knock on the door, dreading having to face whoever opened it.

…...

Bruce's brow furrowed as he watched his partner ascend the stairs from the Batcave to the Manor. It had been three months since Wally's death. Bruce understood Dick's pain—he himself had lost friends over the years—but he had hoped to see some small spark of the old Dick back by now. Dick still participated in missions as Robin in both Gotham and as part of the Team, but Bruce could tell he found no enjoyment in it now.

He hated having to admit it, even to himself, but he didn't know what to do. He had never dealt well with grief and, as much as he loved his son, he didn't know how to help him.

Like countless other times during these last few months, Bruce's thoughts drifted to Wally and Dick's friendship. He remembered the two boys sprawled on the couch upstairs, beating each other to virtual pulp on some video game or another or giving each other real bruises sparring in the Batcave. He could hear their laughter coming from Dick's bedroom hours after they were supposed to be asleep during a sleepover and Dick's signature cackle when he pulled one or another of his highly original pranks on his best friend.

And that, Bruce sighed, was the problem. Wally had been much more than a teammate to Dick; they had been friends for years, both in and out of costume. Wally was the one person besides Bruce and Alfred with whom Dick could share every aspect of his life; he could slip back and forth between Dick and Robin without having to worry about what not to say.

Or maybe, Bruce realized, _that_ was the problem. Well, part of it. Without Wally, Dick didn't have anyone his own age to talk to—to be himself around. Of course, Bruce made sure Dick knew he could come to him or Alfred anytime about anything, but sometimes a person just needed a friend. Or two. Perhaps… perhaps it was time to bring in the Team. They had already had several successful missions; maybe they could succeed where Bruce had failed. Though there had been no way to save Wally, maybe, just maybe, the Team could save Dick.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here it is! The second and final part of my alternate ending sequence! Enjoy, and thanks for reading!**

Pain

_Ow, that hurts!_

_What…?_

_What happened?_

Wally could hear beeping. It was a strange, steady beeping, reminding Wally of a heart monitor in a hospital. Wally managed to pry one eye open and turned it toward the source of the infernal beeping. Oh. It was a heart monitor. His other eye joined the first and he turned them both to the ceiling. It wasn't hospital white, but gray. _Cave gray_ his brain supplied. Wally relaxed as far as the pain allowed. He was in the Cave. He was safe.

Wally frowned. Why wouldn't he be safe? Probably for the same reason he was in the Cave's infirmary. Now if only he could remember why that was…

While Wally was trying to remember the last day or so, the door to the infirmary opened and Robin shuffled in, gripping a cup of coffee in one hand and shutting the door with the other. He was dressed in his civvies—jeans, a hoodie, and the ever-present sunglasses—but Wally could still tell: Rob looked terrible.

"You know Bats is gonna kill you for drinking coffee, right?" Wally joked. Or, he tried to. What actually came out of his mouth sounded more like "Oo nah Bah ki-coff, yah?" Robin froze momentarily, then he rushed to put the coffee down on the bedside table before grabbing Wally's hand.

"Wally! How do you feel?"

Wally licked his lips before trying to speak again. "What happened?"

"You were shot," Robin said softly, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of Wally's hand. "The girls were having a girls' night out so you, me, Kal and SB decided to hit the streets for some guy time, superhero style." Robin smiled thinly before continuing. "We were just hanging out by the docks when SB heard a drug deal going down. We thought it was just a regular bag 'n' tag, so we all were a bit… careless."

Robin looked down at their joined hands as he went on. "Things were fine at first; there were about a dozen guys there, so there were plenty to go around. We started taking 'em down, no problem, but then this guy with a P-90 steps out of the shadows and…" Robin's voice broke and Wally saw one solitary tear slide out from under the edge of Robin's sunglasses before Robin wipes it away roughly with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"We weren't sure you were gonna make it," he whispered softly. "RT, Canary, and J'onn were working on you for 6 hours. SB heard you flatline _twice._ I thought-"Robin's breathing hitched and Wally saw another tear. "I thought I was gonna lose my best friend…"

Wally squeezed the hand he was holding, waiting until Robin looked at him. "Hey," he said quietly. "I'm here; I'm okay." He grinned a bit. "Well, relatively speaking. I _will_ be okay, though." He squeezed Robin's hand again. "Besides, you can't get rid of me that easily. Without me, there'd be no one to kick your butt in 'Assassins of Blue Lake IV'."

Wally scooted over until he was laying on the far edge of the bed, and then patted the space beside him. Robin climbed in next to him, tucking himself into Wally's side. It hurt, but it was a good hurt, Wally decided. Pain was good. Pain meant 'not dead.' Pain meant more time with friends and family. Pain meant M'Gann's cooking, Artemis' snarking, videogames with Rob, and hanging out with the whole Team.

He knew it would take a while, even for him, but eventually he would be back on his feet and ready to run. As scary as this life was, it was the only one he could ever imagine himself doing. No puny bullet was gonna stop him from saving the world.


End file.
